What happened to taking it easy?
by treehugger18
Summary: Andy's been told to take it easy, but she's finding it a struggle. Sam and Andy future fic.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: So even though I have two other stories I should be finishing up, this idea got stuck in my head a few weeks ago and just wouldn't leave me alone. I tried to ignore it but then I realised it was probably just easier to get it down and post it as a one-shot since it wouldn't fit in with any of my other stories. Unfortunately, I still can't write short stories (even one-shots) so I decided to split it into two chapters, of which this is the first._

_Be warned it is complete and utter fluff, no plot to speak of, just something to get me through season four. And in regards to when it's set, it's sometime in the future whenever Andy and Sam get their act together. I haven't got a specific date in mind but I imagine several years at the very least._

_Also I'd just like to say a big thank you to dcj for giving it the once over first._

_Disclaimer: I don't own rookie blue but I do like to borrow the characters for my own entertainment_

* * *

**What happened to taking it easy?**

**Present Day:**

The sun was just about giving up for the day when Sam Swarek climbed out of his truck. He stretched a little, trying to relieve some of the tension from huddling over a stack of files all day, before grabbing his bag and slamming the door shut. Sam guessed the noise must have annoyed the overhanging tree since it dropped a few leaves down to greet him, though really it was just another reminder that summer was no longer here.

After brushing the leaves aside and locking the truck, Sam turned to face his house, but instead of walking up the path he found himself glued to the spot. For some reason he had only just noticed the orange swirls in the sky and he couldn't help but stare. He wasn't normally one to appreciate such sights but after the past fifteen hours he was just happy to be outside, or really to be home. Given the way the case had been progressing, he hadn't thought it possible. This morning he'd resigned himself to leaving the station at some god awful hour and crawling into bed just minutes before he had to be up again. But then they'd gotten their breakthrough.

It was actually Nash who had found the lead that took them to their guy, not that Sam really cared where it came from. In all honesty, he was just happy to be able to close the case, again though that was mostly down to Nash. She had led the interview, got the man to confess and then insisted she finish up the paperwork alone. Sam had offered to help, he didn't feel right leaving it all on her, but she had told him to go. Of course he hadn't been easily deterred but after Nash revealed the number of texts Andy had sent her, Sam knew he needed to get home.

Unfortunately the drive back wasn't very quick, since it appeared every red light was still out to get him. Thankfully though it was a hell of a lot less torturous than the one he had taken seven days ago. Sam could still remember every panicked second of that hour in great detail. He had been on a stakeout with Nash when the call came through. He remembered there being other words but the only two he had managed to repeat were Andy and doctors.

Nash had been much more level headed about the situation than he had. After reassuring him that it was probably nothing to worry about, she had put him in a cab and told him to call her as soon as he knew more. Sam didn't think he'd said much to her, possibly he'd just nodded as he dialled Oliver's number. He'd assumed his friend would be able to tell him more about what was going on but Oliver clearly hadn't heard, and so he'd tried Frank and anyone else he thought might know something while his mind forced him to consider the worst outcomes.

Of course it was just his luck that no one seemed to be able to tell him anything more than what he already knew, which meant that he'd resorted to telling the cabbie to speed up every other minute. Sam knew he'd annoyed the man to the point of almost being kicked out of the cab but the not knowing had gotten to him. At that point in time, all he had cared about was seeing with his own two eyes that she was okay.

Something, which thankfully, he didn't have to wait very long to see.

**One week ago:**

_"What? Dov! Why did you call him?" _

_Sam couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Andy as he came to a halt by the door of the waiting room. He could feel his heart racing, though he didn't know if it was from shock or relief, or both. Since he had spent the last hour assuming the worst, he had expected to find her lying unconscious on a hospital bed, not reading a magazine and yelling at her friend._

_"Uh." Epstein looked as though he wanted to say something similar to what Sam was thinking, but in the end he just shrugged. "I'm gonna get a drink, anyone?"_

_Sam shook his head but patted Epstein's shoulder as he walked past to thank him for the call. He didn't care what Andy said, he needed to be here._

_"I'm fine," she told him as he walked over to her. "Seriously, you didn't need to come."_

_Sam tried his best not to roll his eyes as he slowed his breathing; he really didn't want to get into another argument about this._

_"Look, I've already been given the all clear so it's all fine."_

_Sam wasn't sure how getting rushed to the hospital in the middle of the day qualified as fine, but before he had a chance to vocalise his thoughts the nurse was calling out Andy's name._

_"Mrs. Swarek."_

_Andy let out a sigh before faking a smile and walking over to the nurse. Clearly she thought she was okay, and admittedly she did seem it, but until he heard what the doctor had to say, Sam didn't think he would be able to shake the panicked feeling. _

_"Sam?"_

_Andy tilted her head in the direction of the room the nurse was directing her to._

_"Uh, yeah." He gave a short nod before following after her._

_"Dr. Thomas will just be a minute," the nurse told them once they reached the room._

_Andy, clearly wanting to be the model patient, gave the nurse a bright smile as she thanked her for her help before moving over to one of the free seats in the room. Sam on the other hand, found himself hovering in the doorway whilst he tried to wrap his head around what had just occurred._

_"Mr. Swarek." The nurse gave him a sympathetic look as she gestured for him to take a seat next to Andy. "There really is no reason to look so worried; Dr. Thomas just wants a quick word before you leave."_

_Sam muttered a 'yeah' as he moved over to take the seat next to Andy but he still wasn't very convinced. Sure, Andy said she was fine and so did the nurse but he couldn't shake the sinking feeling that they'd missed something. He knew it was irrational, that he should hear the doctor out before jumping to any conclusions, but then he also knew good things never lasted, not for him. _

_"Won't be a minute," the nurse told them as she retreated from the room._

_Again Sam muttered a 'yeah', deciding that he would wait until she was definitely gone before talking to his wife._

_"I'm fine," Andy told him as soon as the door clicked shut, her tone of voice indicating that she was getting bored of having to say the words._

_Sam nodded. Apparently Andy already knew what he wanted to say and so he decided to keep quiet. He figured he could do with a minute to rid his mind of the images it had conjured up on the ride over, and Andy obviously had something else on her mind. The way she refused to look at him along with the slump of her shoulders told him that much. Sam knew he could ask what it was but given Andy's earlier answers he didn't think he would get anything more helpful. Besides, it wasn't like Andy could keep quiet for long and so waiting seemed like as good an idea as any._

_"He's gonna bench me," Andy muttered after a few minutes._

_"What?"_

_"He's gonna make me take time off, tell me the job's too stressful." She sighed as she looked over to him. "Same thing happened to Kelly."_

_"Kelly?" He didn't think he knew a Kelly._

_"Redhead from twenty-seventh." _

_He shrugged, he couldn't recall the woman._

_"It's not fair," Andy moaned, "I mean I'm sitting behind a desk, how stressful does he think that is?" _

_'You fainted at work."_

_"I…closed my eyes for a few seconds."_

_"Three witnesses say you fainted." Or at least that's what he'd been told on one of the many calls he'd made during his trip down here._

_"Look, I just forgot to eat and it was hot and-"_

_"Andy." There may have been a number of reasons for it but the facts were still the same. She had fainted. "Andy. Hey." _

_"What?"_

_She moved her eyes to the floor, refusing to look at him._

_"You gotta do what he says okay?" He moved his chair a little closer and draped his arm around the back of hers. "I don't want anything to happen to you," he told her as he placed his hand to her stomach. "Either of you."_

_She didn't respond straight away but Sam knew she agreed when he heard the sigh._

**Present Day:**

Andy had never been good at taking it easy, and Sam knew for a fact that she had hated every minute of the past week in which she'd been made to stay at home. Hell, he knew particularly well because just before they went to bed last night she had mentioned in great detail every argument she could think of which meant she was ready to go back to work. He'd listened, let her vent, before countering with the one argument that she couldn't say no to; the doctor had told her to take it easy.

And it wasn't like it was just one doctor either. After the trip to the hospital, Andy had wanted, or really demanded, a second opinion from their own doctor. To her dismay, Dr. Kent had told her the exact same thing, and so reluctantly she'd agreed to take the week off before reassessing the situation.

"Andy?" Sam called out as he pushed open the front door. "Andy?"

He listened for a response as he stepped inside but there was no answer. Well, none from Andy. After using his heel to close the door, Sam could suddenly make out the faint hum of 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and couldn't help but smile. Andy had become quite The Who fan recently due to the reactions of a certain someone.

**Four days ago:**

_It was Sam's first day off since Andy had taken, or really been forced to take, some time off work. He knew she was driving herself crazy being stuck in the house all day and had hoped that if he was there to keep her company she would see that it wasn't such a bad thing, but of course that hadn't worked. To her credit, she had actually made it to midday before telling him that as much as she loved him, she needed to do something._

_She had listed off numerous suggestions, all of which he didn't think her doctor would approve of, until he had offered to take her on a drive. It got her out of the house and it wasn't too strenuous since all she had to do was sit there and enjoy the sites. She'd seemed reluctant at first but after he mentioned eating out she happily agreed._

_"So where are we going?" Andy asked as she fiddled with the CD player, causing another Mumford and Sons song to come blaring out._

_"You'll just have to wait and see," he said before glancing over to see the frown on her face._

_"Could just tell me," she muttered as she continued fiddling with the buttons, skipping over song after song. He guessed she was after one in particular. "Please."_

_"No." The truth was he hadn't actually decided yet, he had a few ideas in mind but it really depended on how far they managed to get before Andy wanted food. _

_"Hate surprises," she grumbled as she pressed another button causing the CD to change. "Crap. Wait. What is this?"_

_"The only CD you haven't replaced," he told her as he flicked the indicator on. Sam wasn't completely sure how it had happened but he could still remember the day he'd climbed into his truck and turned on the CD player only to be greeted with a selection of Andy's favourites._

_"Oh." _

_"Yeah. So how about we listen to one song before you torture me with some more of your…music?"_

_"Uh." He pulled the truck round the corner, waiting for Andy to come out with an excuse as to why that was a bad idea. "Oh. That-"_

_"Andy?" he glanced at her briefly, noticing the worried look on her face. "You okay?"_

_"Uh."_

_Sam checked the mirrors before pulling over to the side of the road. As soon as he'd parked the truck, he turned to see her with her hand on her stomach. For a moment his head was filled with images of everything that could go wrong, but then she spoke. _

_"Whoa."_

_"What is it?" he asked as he leant over the console, trying to get a better look at her._

_She didn't speak; instead she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. Sam still wasn't sure what was going on, was worried that it was something serious, but then he felt it. He was sure his mouth dropped open as he felt it again, and again. It was insane, the feeling against his hand, the small thump. _

_"That's-"_

_"Our baby," Andy said as he looked up to see the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face. "Our baby's kicking."_

_She looked as though she wanted to cry even with the way she was still grinning at him. A grin Sam couldn't help but match. Their baby was kicking, rather a lot actually, and every kick just left him even more amazed than the one before. _

_"First uh…first time?" _

_He was sure she would have told him if it had happened before but he really didn't know what else to say. It appeared the event had left him somewhat speechless._

_"Yeah." Andy nodded as she moved her hand over his. "It's-"_

_But she paused as they felt it again._

_Sam couldn't help but move his eyes back to look at their hands. It was just so surreal. He knew it was supposed to happen soon, they had both been told by numerous people, but he had never expected it to feel like this. And it wasn't like he'd never been in this position before, he could still remember Sarah making him do the same thing when she was pregnant, but this was different. This was his child. His and Andy's._

_"Wow," Andy said as Sam lifted his eyes to meet hers again._

_"Yeah," he agreed before leaning further over the console to kiss her. _

_He knew he was finding it hard to find the right words, knew even Andy was, but then they had already said everything they needed to._

**Present Day:**

Sam couldn't keep the smile off his face as he continued through the house and into the living room. He remembered sitting by the side of the road for at least half an hour after they felt it, neither of them saying too much as they processed what had just happened. It was such a small event in the grand scheme of things but it had made such a big impact on both him and Andy, and he had a feeling it was just a warning of what was to come. Even though they had never met, he already knew he was willing to do anything for this kid.

"McNally," Sam tried as the sound of music faded. He waited a few seconds but there was still no response from Andy. For a moment he considered calling her name again, but before he had a chance he heard the start of 'Baba O'Riley' and couldn't help but laugh.

Andy had been less than thrilled when he'd worked out that The Who was the cause of their child's movements, though he had a feeling that was mostly due to his music tastes being picked over hers. A fact which meant that he hadn't been too surprised when he'd come home three days ago to find her surrounded by CDs looking somewhat annoyed. He hadn't needed to but he'd asked her what was wrong anyway, only to be told that their kid was obviously a drummer and he was going to have to spring for music lessons and soundproofing the garage.

As much as he'd wanted to point out that they didn't have a garage to soundproof, he'd realised it wasn't the best time and so he'd just kissed her instead. She'd seemed resistant to start with, still clearly annoyed with what had happened but later that night she had curled up on the couch with him and listened to a greatest hits album whilst pressing her hands against her stomach. Given the effects of it, she didn't seem all that bothered about the actual music anymore. Really, all she cared about now was what it caused their unborn child to do.

"Hey. Andy," Sam tried once more as he swept his eyes around the living room.

He wasn't surprised to see the blanket she had been curled up in this morning draped across the back of the couch, or the various half opened magazines and books. He guessed she'd lasted about an hour before she had given up lying down on the couch. He wasn't sure what else she would have done but he was almost certain it wouldn't fit in with their doctor's view of rest.

Still, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt as he continued his journey through their house and into the kitchen. It was then that he was greeted with even more evidence of her attempts and failures of taking it easy. Pots and pans and dozens of other items were strewed about the kitchen. The same kitchen which had been spotless when he'd left for work this morning and now only had one clean surface with a stack of cupcakes and a note on it.

Sam couldn't help but sigh as he took in the kitchen once more before stepping closer to the cupcakes and reading the note.

_For Dr. Kent tomorrow. If you take one, you'll be making more until they're as good as these._

Sam just shook his head as he took one. Trust Andy to think she could bribe the doctor to let her go back to work, though he knew he shouldn't be surprised. She had been planning ways to get herself back to the station ever since she had been told to take the week off, which, in all honesty, he did understand. He'd been made to take time off before and had hated every minute of it, though it was a slightly different situation.

"McNally," Sam called out a little louder before taking a bite of the cupcake.

It was good, really good. He guessed Andy's attempt at taking up hobbies was going to benefit them after all. Well, some of her attempts anyway.

**Two days ago:**

_"Andy?" Sam called out as he walked through the door. _

_He was running late, even later than the belated time he had already told her._

_"In here." _

_Sam closed the door and kicked off his boots before walking into the living room. He had expected her to be mad at him for not making it home sooner but she was just sat in front of the TV wearing one of his academy hoodies._

_"I know it's late, it's just-"_

_"It's fine," she cut him off as he dropped his bag onto the floor. _

_Sam wasn't sure if she really meant it or if it was one of the times when she actually meant the opposite, and so tentatively he approached her._

_"Have a good day?" _

_She shrugged her shoulders, still not bothering to turn around. _

_"It was alright, just…dammit." _

_"You-" he started as he hurried over to her, but then he saw the source of her frustration. "Wow."_

_"Shut up," she grumbled, throwing a quick glance at him. "You said I should try a new hobby."_

_"Yeah." He walked a little closer and picked up one of the red pouches from the coffee table. "Didn't see this one coming." _

_"It's relaxing," she told him before letting out a frustrated groan and chucking the needles down next to her._

_"Clearly." _

_Andy turned to glare at him as she unravelled herself from the wool whilst he pulled the small pouch over his finger. _

_"What is it exactly?" _

_He held up his newly covered finger for her to see._

_"Put it back." _

_Sam didn't comply; instead he grabbed another one off the table and put it on another finger._

_"You making finger puppets?" _

_"No."_

_"Colourful bandages?"_

_"No."_

_"Oh, I know-"_

_"They're socks okay? Socks!"_

_Sam did his best to keep a neutral expression as he looked back to his covered fingers. _

_"I may not have been paying much attention in all those classes but uh, I think these might be a bit small."_

_Andy looked as though she wanted hit him, but thankfully she wasn't as quick as she used to be._

_"It's not as easy as it looks."_

_"Yeah," he muttered as he glanced over to the coffee table. It appeared Andy had gone through several iterations. "How long you been doing this for?"_

_"Well." She blew out a breath as she pushed herself off the couch. "It was after I finished abseiling down the CN tower and running into burning buildings so-" She stopped for a moment as she contemplated her answer. "I guess noon."_

_Sam knew he didn't look impressed as he held her gaze. Of course he understood her frustrations at the situation but after the hospital incident, he couldn't help but worry about her. The truth was, he had never really imagined this happening to him. He had always assumed he'd never settle down, that the job would be all he wanted, but now. Now it was different and he didn't want anything to happen to his family. _

_Still, he knew Andy wasn't being serious and so after unclenching his jaw, he opened his mouth._

_"You can't abseil down the CN tower." _

_Andy looked as impressed as he had a minute ago, though after a few seconds she shook her head and walked over to him, plucking the socks off his fingers._

_"Know it all."_

_"Know I love you." He smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer._

_Andy snorted out a laugh before looking up to him. _

_"That ever work?"_

_"You tell me," he said as he leaned in to rest his forehead against hers._

_"I guess it depends if you stopped by the store on the way home."_

_"You saying ice cream is more important than your husband?" _

_Andy ran her hands up his arms before resting them on his shoulders._

_"At this point in time, that's exactly what _I'm saying._"_

_She grinned at him before trying to take a step back, but Sam held her firmly against him as he leaned in to kiss her. He had a feeling it would be a chaste kiss, and it certainly seemed to be going in that direction as Andy started to pull away, but then she seemed to change her mind as she planted her lips firmly back against his. _

_"You look really good," she mumbled against his mouth as she continued to kiss him._

_"So do you."_

_"Liar," she spoke just loud enough for him to hear as she started unbuttoning his shirt._

_A few months ago Sam would have tried to slow her down, but given her hormones, he knew it was just best to go with it._

_"Not lying," he told her as he ran his hands under her top._

_If anything, he found her more attractive now that she was pregnant, though he couldn't say for sure why that was. He'd assumed it was some pheromone she was giving off or the knowledge that they had created a life together, but he had never managed to gather any concrete proof. All he knew for certain was that he had been finding it incredibly hard to keep his hands off her for the past few months._

_"We uh…should go…upstairs," Andy breathed in between kisses as she forced his shirt off and moved her hands to his belt._

_"Guess the ice cream can wait after all huh?" he said, though he suddenly wished he hadn't._

_Andy's hands went from having a very clear mission to stopping in less than a second whilst Sam silently berated himself. Apparently he had finally managed to prove that Andy would indeed pick food over sex. However, after preparing himself to take a cold shower, he suddenly noticed the glint in her eye as she smiled up at him._

_"Bring it with us."_

_Sam coughed out a laugh in surprise before just staring at her. Once he realised that she was deadly serious, he swallowed away the surprise and opened his mouth._

_"Okay then."_

**Present Day:**

Sam couldn't help but smile at the memory. He and Andy had done a lot of things before but food was a new one, though it was one he was more than happy to repeat. In fact, he had had a very vivid dream about it last night, one that he was suddenly very curious to try out.

Unfortunately, before he had a chance to figure out exactly what he needed his eyes landed on the counter by the fridge and he was suddenly a lot less curious. It appeared Andy had gone through some of her cravings today if the contents were anything to go by. Foods which Sam would never in his wildest dreams have thought to put together were spread out all over the surface. A bowl with what he could only guess was peanut butter, jelly and pickles was left in the middle.

As much as he tried, Sam couldn't stop himself wrinkling his nose at the substance before taking another bite of the cupcake and hoping that this phase would pass soon. He had been fine with the fries and milkshake, had actually quite enjoyed it if he was honest, and the cake and gravy had been tolerable but peanut butter, jelly and pickles, he found it hard to watch her eat that concoction.

"Sam?"

It took Sam a few seconds to pry his eyes away from the mixing bowl, and another few seconds to finish the mouthful of cupcake.

"Yeah, where are you?" he called out before finishing off the last of his stolen food. He was willing to bet that if he hid the evidence she wouldn't know he had taken one.

"Here."

Sam had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't say anything about how helpful the answer was. In fact, he'd had to bite his tongue quite a lot recently for fear of entering into pointless arguments. They weren't normally that bad, though they had certainly increased in frequency over the last week. Part of him wanted to blame it on the hormones but she'd been reasonably predictable with those, so he was going to put it down to the combination of being stuck at home and being six months pregnant.

For the past week Sam never knew if he was going to be mauled as soon as he came through the door, if he would find her crying at a Disney film or if she was going to be angry at him for some inane reason. Thankfully the former had made up the majority of the days, even the days that started with the inane arguments, though today was new. It never normally took him this long to find her, which probably meant she was up to something.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, coming."

He stepped up his pace as he headed up the stairs. He had to wonder if she was finally taking this resting thing seriously. Images of her lying on their bed or taking a bath flashed through his mind until he reached the top step. That was when he realised the music wasn't coming from their room or the bathroom.

"McNally," he sighed as he headed over to the spare room.

"It's actually Swarek when we're not at work," she told him as she glanced over, offering him a huge grin.

Sam tried his best to look annoyed but he could feel the resistance from his face. It was the splashes of yellow in her hair and on her cheeks that made it so hard to stay angry at her. Not to mention how proud she looked of herself.

"Sam?"

He took a minute as he let out another sigh before opening his mouth.

"What happened to taking it easy?"

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_AN: So the next chapter is almost done, which means it'll probably be up sometime over the weekend_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Apologies for the delay but here's the other part of the story._

_Just wanted to say thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites, it means a lot. Also a special thanks to dcj for giving this one the once over too._

* * *

**Present Day:**

"What happened to taking it easy?"

Andy just grinned at him again before shrugging a shoulder.

"I was bored." She took a step back and dropped the brush down onto the sheet covering the floor. "Besides, it's only painting."

"Painting a whole room?"

Sam wasn't sure Dr. Kent would see it the same way, though Andy didn't seem bothered.

"Look, I took breaks, I left the window open, I didn't eat any of it, I-"

"Okay." He raised a hand to stop her explanation. He understood that she wanted to do something and even though he wasn't sure her doctor would approve, he didn't want them getting into another argument about what she could and couldn't do. Besides, he knew she cared about this baby more than anything else in the world, that she wouldn't do anything to put herself or their child at risk.

"So," she started, gesturing to the room. "Like it?"

Sam took a moment before moving his eyes around. The white walls which had been there this morning were now a bright yellow. The alphabet strip Andy had picked out two months ago was up on the furthest wall, the brightly coloured letters standing next to some animal or other object that represented them.

"Sam?"

Since the paint on the furthest wall had had time to dry, Sam guessed Andy hadn't waited very long before starting on the room today. He knew he should have seen it coming considering the number of hints she'd been dropping about getting it ready, but then he thought he'd managed to convince her that he would do most of the work.

"I mean I know it's not finished yet but…" she trailed off, using her hands to indicate that it was a start.

Sam offered her a small smile before looking back around the room. He knew Andy was waiting for a vocal response but he was finding it incredibly hard to know what to say. A week ago the only real indication that they were having this baby was Andy's growing bump and the millions of books she had brought, but now. Now there was the room, and the kicking, and the knitted clothing, and…the feelings.

He wasn't sure how it had happened but over the last week everything had suddenly become a lot more real. The truth was, in three months this room wouldn't be a spare room anymore, it would be their child's. And in three months the source of his sleep deprivation wouldn't just be work, but also nights of feeding and changing.

"Sam?"

He moved to stand behind Andy as he swept his eyes around the room once more. In three months it wouldn't just be the two of them anymore.

"I think," he started as he took one last step and wrapped his arms securely around her. "It's perfect."

"Really?"

"Really." He felt her relax into his arms as he placed a kiss to her cheek

"I just, I want it to be the best, you know?"

"I know."

After they had passed the first trimester, Andy had started planning out every aspect of her pregnancy and the impending baby. By the time Sam had cleared out the spare room, she'd already picked out ten possible colours, ordered at least twenty books and signed them up for god knows how many classes. He may have protested quite a lot at the time but it had actually been rather helpful, and Andy's constant planning was making things easier since he always knew what to do.

"It's great." He leaned his head against her shoulder and rubbed a hand over her belly.

"Yeah. Well, I mean when it's done it will be," she told him as she leant her head against his and covered his hand with her own.

As soon as he felt the small kicks, Sam couldn't help but smile. No matter how many times it happened, it was still the most amazing thing he had ever felt.

"It's your voice too you know?"

"What's that?" he asked as he laced their fingers together.

"Always kicks more with your voice."

"Yeah?"

He hadn't noticed but he knew it was the sort of thing Andy would pick up on.

"Yep." She gave a short nod before turning around in his arms.

Sam could feel the growing smile on his face as his eyes met hers, not just because of the stupidly proud feeling caused by her last statement but also because of the way she was looking at him. Even though she hated not working, he was sure he hadn't seen her this happy since they'd gotten married. Sure it had taken them some time, god knows they spent long enough pushing each other away and burying their feelings, but it was worth it because now. Now he really couldn't picture his life without her.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?" He continued to smile at her, though he was pretty sure he'd just missed something she'd said.

"You wanna see it?"

"See what?"

"Your present."

"Present?" He felt his smile falter as his brain sped through every important date, trying to work out which one he had forgotten. It wasn't her birthday or their wedding anniversary or-

"You didn't forget anything." She smirked up at him. "I just, I saw it and I thought of you."

Sam nodded; he always forgot how well she could read him now.

"So, you wanna go see it?"

"Sure."

She held his gaze for a moment longer before turning to leave. However, before she'd even taken two steps she turned back to him, her interview face on.

"Open your mouth."

"What?"

"Breathe."

"What?"

"Breathe," she told him as she leaned in close.

"Wh-"

"Oh my god! You ate one!"

"What?"

"I can smell it on your breath. What the hell Sam? Did you not read the note?"

Sam had to force himself not to laugh or smile at the situation. He had forgotten about the super sense of smell she had developed since being pregnant, though he figured he might still be able to get away with it.

"What note?"

"Oh, don't even try that. You couldn't have missed it."

"Look, there-" But he stopped as she took a few steps back and bent down to pick up the paint brush.

Even though he knew he could make it out of the room in the time it took her to stand back up, Sam stayed where he was.

"I'll ask once more," she told him as she dipped the brush into the nearest pot of paint.

"McNally."

"Swarek." She raised a challenging eyebrow at him as he bit the inside of his cheek. He couldn't believe she would actually follow through with what she was threatening but he didn't want to tempt it by laughing at the situation.

"Look, I have no idea-" But before he had a chance to finish he felt the paint on his face.

Seconds later the room was filled with Andy's laughter as Sam just stared at her, mouth agape. He hadn't really expected her to do it, had thought it was just an empty threat, but the cold substance sliding down his face was more than enough evidence to the contrary.

"That my punishment?" he asked as he wiped a hand over his face before rubbing it on his shirt. Since she'd already managed to get it, he figured there was no reason to try and keep it clean.

"That you admitting you stole a cupcake?" She dipped the brush back into the paint before holding it up in what Sam could only describe as a threatening manner.

Sam knew she was more than willing to do it again and so considered his answer for a moment before opening his mouth. "Nope."

Andy glared at him for a second before flicking the brush at him again. Thankfully this time she managed to miss most of his face, though it appeared she wasn't done just yet. Instead of saying anything else, she just dipped the brush back into the pot before raising a challenging eyebrow at him.

Considering how much time she had spent on the room, Sam had a feeling he might have better luck with trying to reason with her.

"You know you're gonna ruin the walls if you continue chucking paint about."

"Not if you confess." she told him as she readied the brush. "So what's it gonna be?"

Andy kept her eyes locked with his, clearly analysing every movement, as Sam did his best to stop the smile threatening to break loose.

"There wasn't-" But he stopped as he felt the paint hit his shirt.

After glancing down to see the splatters of yellow, Sam lifted his head back up to see the same determined look on his wife's face.

"You know, I actually quite like this shirt."

"Yeah?" Andy dipped the brush back into the pot. "Well I actually quite liked those cupcakes."

She flicked the brush at him again before he had a chance to respond.

"There were at least ten," he tried to defend himself. "Still nine left."

"Well, I guess it'll only be a tenth of your shirt then."

Sam couldn't help but think touché as she dipped the brush back into the pot.

"You ever think this might be a bit pointless?"

"Yep." Andy gave a short nod before flicking the brush at him again. "Want to know what else I think is a bit pointless? Lying about something you obviously did."

Again Sam couldn't help but think touché as he watched his wife dip the brush back into the paint. He was getting the distinct feeling that the only way she would end this was when she ran out of paint, and as much as he didn't want to give in, he didn't feel like spending another hour trying to locate this particular shade of yellow.

"Okay." He raised his hands in surrender as he took a few steps towards her.

"Okay what?" she asked as he came to halt in front of her.

"I ignored the note."

Andy didn't speak straight away, instead she just held his gaze before dropping the brush down onto the floor.

"I know," she told him before taking a quick look around the room. "You suck at lying."

Sam felt his mouth fall open ever so slightly at her words. He had never thought Andy McNally would ever say that to him, though of course she wasn't Andy McNally anymore.

"Well, you suck at taking it easy," he told her as he wiped a hand over his face again, trying to remove the rest of the paint.

"And you need a shower."

"So do you." Even though he was almost certainly wearing more than her, she still had splashes in her hair and on her face and hands.

"How about a bath?"

He knew she had managed to completely avoid the topic of her not taking it easy, though since she was suggesting a bath, it was step in the right direction.

"Okay," he agreed as he turned to leave but Andy pulled him back before he'd taken a step. "What?"

"Strip."

Sam couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. Normally there was at least some sort of foreplay involved, although, maybe that had been it.

"I don't want you getting any on the carpet," she told him, gesturing to his shirt. "So strip."

Sam knew it wasn't worth arguing about and so after giving his wife a small smile, he proceeded with her request before pointing out that she needed to do the same. She laughed when he told her he was just trying to save the carpets but even after telling him that it was a lame excuse she did it.

Once they were both striped of all hazardous clothing, they made their way to the bathroom where Sam tried to scrub off as much of the paint as possible, since he had feeling Andy hadn't had a yellow bath in mind when she'd suggested one. Thankfully the paint came off reasonably easily, so by the time the bath was full and Andy was calling him over, Sam was mostly back to his normal colour. He didn't say anything when he saw the bubbles surrounding her. He knew she liked them and so just climbed in behind her before pulling her back against his chest.

As soon as they were both settled, a comfortable silence fell over the room. Well, for a few minutes at least.

"We should do this more often," Andy spoke softly as she leant her head back against his shoulder.

Sam let himself enjoy the feeling of her hand tracing up and down his leg for a few seconds before giving a short nod. Sure, they had shared many showers before but they had only really starting taking long baths after they'd found out she was pregnant. Though he had to admit he did quite enjoy them.

"So how was your day?"

"The usual." He shrugged; he didn't really want to think about work anymore. "Traci broke the case, we got the guy."

"Good." She took hold of his hand and kissed it. A moment later she placed it to her stomach where Sam was met with the familiar feeling. "Told you it was your voice."

"Yeah." He smiled to himself before looking down where his hand was. "So how was your day, aside from the relaxing painting of an entire room?"

Andy let out a small laugh as she glanced at him.

"It was good." She shrugged a shoulder slightly as she ran her finger over his wedding ring. "Sorry about the mess in the kitchen."

"Oh, you mean the bombsite formally known as the kitchen?"

Andy let out a huff at his words. "It's not that bad," she muttered before looking up to see the disbelief on his face. "Okay fine, but I was going to clean up. I just, I dunno, Charlie started kicking like there was no tomorrow and I just thought I should do something useful."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"Because you didn't think playing The Who all day would-"

"Well yeah, okay, that might have been a factor." she said. "I dunno I just, I like the feeling."

"I'm sure it makes painting and baking all that much easier."

"Shh you," she muttered.

Sam considered saying something more about it but in the end he decided to mention the other thing on his mind.

"So Charlie hey?"

Andy tilted her head back further so he could see the questioning look on her face.

"You hadn't mentioned it in a while; figured you might be changing your mind. You know, since you reserved the right to."

Sam could see the wheels turning in her head as she considered his words for a few seconds .

"I still like Charlie, it's just…it feels weird because we haven't even met them yet. I mean what if they're not a Charlie?"

"Then." He shrugged. "I guess we pick another name."

"I guess," Andy muttered, though Sam hoped they didn't have to. He liked Charlie, and he really didn't feel like going through the naming process again.

**One month ago:**

_"You ready?" _

_"Andy." Sam gestured for her to move out of the way as he craned his neck to see round her. _

_"It's recording."_

_"There's five minutes left," he said as he heard the cheers from the crowd, though he couldn't tell what had caused them since his view was blocked by the five month pregnant woman. "McNally."_

_"Just tell me where it is."_

_Sam let out a sigh as he forced himself to sit upright before digging his hand into his back pocket._

_"Can I watch the game now?" he asked as he handed over the folded piece of paper to her._

_"Absolutely." She kissed his cheek and took the paper before moving out of the way._

_Sam just shook his head before lying back down on the couch. He figured Andy would give him the next five minutes before they started the great debate, though he wasn't sure he needed it. The cheer he had missed had come from the opposition scoring, which meant his team needed some sort of miracle to win now._

_Still, Sam was nothing if not patient and so he waited. One minute passed but no luck, two minutes and they had missed a shot. On the third they scored but they were still behind and the clock was running down. The fourth went by in a blur and before Sam knew it the buzzer was sounding an end to the game._

_"Ready?" Andy asked almost as soon as the commentator finished repeating the final scores._

_Sam couldn't help but laugh as he turned to look at her. She was hovering by the door, something he imagined she'd been doing ever since he had handed her the list. He knew she was excited about this, that she had been planning it out for as long as he could remember. The fact that he had managed to delay the discussion for such a long time was surprising to the say the least._

_"Sam?"_

_"Yeah, I'm ready." He rubbed a hand over his face as he flicked off the TV._

_Within a few seconds Andy was in front of him, one piece of paper in each hand._

_"Okay, so I was thinking we could go through mine and then yours or yours and then mine. Whichever. And we just say yes or no. That way we'll have the short list. Then from that we can rank them and-"_

_"Andy."_

_"Yeah?" _

_She seemed far too excited for Sam to say what he really thought and so he just shook his head. _

_"Let's do it."_

_He forced himself to sit up so she could join him on the couch but as she paced up and down in front of him, Sam realised she wouldn't be sitting for this._

_"Okay, you wanna start?"_

_"I don't mind."_

_"Okay." She nodded before unfolding the piece of paper he had handed her._

_Sam just watched as she skimmed the writing, her smile transforming into a scowl._

_"What's this?" She held up the paper to him._

_"A list of names."_

_She gave him a duh look before reading from the paper._

_"Oliver. Ollie. Olivia. Olive." She glared at him for a second before returning her focus to the paper. "Yeah, you can tell Oliver that I don't care how many variations he comes up with, we're not naming our child after him."_

_"Okay."_

_"Oh, and you can tell Dov that I don't care if he writes his name five times, it still isn't going to be that."_

_"Fair enough."_

_"Or Peckstein. Seriously Peckstien Swarek, what kind of a name is that?"_

_"Kinda cool," he admitted, earning himself another glare from Andy._

_"Yeah, we're not naming our child after Gail and Dov."_

_She did have a point with that and so he nodded before looking up to find Andy glaring back at him._

_"Did you actually come up with any names yourself?"_

_"Yeah."_

_Clearly she didn't believe him and so she returned her focus to the list._

_"Gail, Sandy, Casper, Ezekiel. Oh Ninja. That's what you came up with?"_

_"You said we should try and find something unique." _

_"Yes, but there is no way in hell we're naming our child Ninja."_

_"Well in that case I'm outta ideas." He shrugged, gaining himself another angry glance. "You come up with anything better?"_

_Andy let out a huff before dropping his paper onto the coffee table._

_"Why do I get the feeling you're not taking this seriously?"_

_"Because we have four months before we have to choose a name," he said, receiving the expected snort from Andy. "Though I'm more than willing to listen to suggestions."_

_For a moment Sam wondered if he had taken it too far given the way she was looking at him, but then she opened her list._

_"Well." She suddenly seemed a lot happier, Sam was sure she even smiled slightly as she looked down to the paper. "For a boy I was thinking Conner, or Jason, or Will, or-" She stopped as she looked up to see him shaking his head. "What?"_

_"Conner? I don't want to be reminded of Conner Peters every time I look at my kid. Oh and Jason, you remember Jason Carter? And-"_

_"Yeah. Will Hempsted." Andy sighed. "Still don't know how he set himself on fire."_

_"Just be happy we managed to put it out before he did any serious damage to himself. Or us."_

_"Yeah." She nodded before looking down to her list again. "Okay, so how about Michael?"_

_"Junkie I used as a CI."_

_"John?"_

_"John Parish, he ran that trafficking ring me and Nash looked into last month."_

_Again he heard Andy's sigh as she looked down her list._

_"Okay, well I know we haven't really talked about middle names but how about something like James Daniel Swarek, thought that was-" She stopped as soon as she saw the look on his face. "What?"_

_"You wanna name our kid JD?"_

_"No I-"_

_"James Daniel, could be shortened to JD and well, that's not exactly someone I wanna name our child after."_

_"You know from what I remember, JD was actually quite sweet."_

_"Yeah, well from what I remember he spent a lot of time in prison and was a bad-ass drug smuggler," he told her. "I mean great role model in those areas but-"_

_"Fine." She picked up a pen from the table and ruled out the name along with several others._

_"And you can take Candice off the girl's names."_

_"What? How-" But she just shook her head before turning the paper over and marking a line. "You know Candice was-"_

_"A naive insurance something or other who-"_

_"Who?"_

_"Will bring inappropriate memories to mind. So no. No Candice."_

_"Fine." She sighed before turning the paper back over._

_"Got more?"_

_"Yep." _

_He nodded for her to continue._

_"Cameron? Stephen? Benjamin? Jacob? Milo? Joe-" She stopped as soon as she looked up to see him shaking his head. "What?"_

_"Can't name our kid after someone I've arrested."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Seriously."_

_She let out a frustrated groan and flailed her arms about ._

_"I swear to god Sam if we have to veto the name of every person you've ever arrested, then we're gonna run out of names."_

_Even though she had a point, Sam didn't think it was unreasonable to veto names that happened to bring bad memories to mind. Besides, there were still a lot of names out there._

_"You know there is one name that's definitely safe."_

_"What's that?"_

_Sam kept a neutral expression as he spoke the name. "Ninja."_

_Andy shook her head before letting out a muffled curse._

_"That's it." She dropped her list down onto the table. "I give up."_

_She threw her hands up as if to further the message before walking past the couch and out into the hall._

_"Andy," he called out as he pushed himself off the couch and followed after her. "Andy."_

_He knew she was purposely ignoring him, unfortunately for her, she had no chance of outrunning him these days._

_"Hey, Andy." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back around._

_"What?"_

_"I-" He paused for a moment, the look he was getting meant it was going to take more than an apology before she forgave him. "I wasn't being serious."_

_"No, well I'm glad you think your child's name is a big joke. Something-"_

_"I don't think that," he told her before letting out a sigh. "I just...here."_

_He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his front pocket and handed it over. Andy eyed it for a moment before looking up to him._

_"What is it?"_

_"Another list."_

_He gestured to the paper again. Andy seemed hesitant at first but after a minute her resolve seemed to weaken. _

_"What kind of list?" she asked as she took the paper and opened it up._

_"One that I didn't let anyone else help me with."_

_Andy took a few seconds to skim across the top before meeting his eyes again._

_"And you decided to give me the other one first because-"_

_"Thought it might be funny," he confessed, though he knew he should have seen this one coming. Given how excited Andy had been about this evening, it was always bound to end badly if he didn't take it seriously._

_"It wasn't." _

_Sam was tempted to tell her that it depended on where she was sitting, given some of the facial expressions she had made as she read over his list, but he decided to go with the bit she might not hit him for._

_"But Oliver now owes me fifty bucks."_

_"What?"_

_"Said I wouldn't do it. Said that I wouldn't want to upset you at this time."_

_"Well I'm so glad you proved him wrong."_

_Sam just grinned at her as she continued to glare at him. Apparently winning his bet wasn't helping him out. Though after a minute, Andy seemed to get over it._

_"So this one is real?" She nodded to the paper in her hands._

_"Yeah. But there's no rush you know. We still have four months."_

_"Yeah but I don't like people calling our baby it or Ninja." Sam couldn't help but smile until Andy looked at him. At which point, he quickly put on a more serious face. "I mean if we knew the sex then we could use he or she."_

_"I thought we agreed to keep it a surprise?"_

_"Yeah," Andy agreed, though Sam recognised the tone of voice all too well. She was plotting._

_"But?"_

_"But it would just be so much easier if we knew."_

_"But not as much fun." With nearly everything else to do with their child, Sam was happy to go with Andy's gut instinct. However, this was one of the few things he had pushed for, one of the few things he still wanted._

_Sam knew how much Andy hated surprises, knew how much it was annoying her by not knowing, but she was doing it. For him. _

_"Okay." She sighed after a minute of internal deliberation. "But stop calling he or she Ninja."_

_"Okay." It seemed more than fair. "So what am I supposed to call he or she?"_

_Andy shrugged before looking down and rubbing a hand over stomach. After a minute she looked back up to him with a smile on her face._

_"How do you feel about Charlie?"_

_"Charlie?"_

_"It works. Girl or boy."_

_That was true but it was still a hell of a decision to suddenly make._

_"Sam?" _

_He locked eyes with her for a few seconds before looking down to the list he had handed her._

_"I think you should check number ten," he said._

_"What?"_

_He nodded to the list still clutched in Andy's right hand._

_"Number ten," she repeated his instructions as she looked down the list. _

_Sam knew as soon as she had found it given the smile that broke out on her face._

_"So," she started as she looked back up and took a step toward him. "Charlie Swarek?"_

_Sam waited a second as he felt Andy's hand taking hold of his before giving a short nod._

_"Charlie Swarek."_

**Present Day:**

"Sam?"

Sam could feel the hand on his shoulder, the fingers gently brushing though his hair, the lips on his cheek. As much as he wanted to keep his eyes closed and just enjoy the current feelings, he knew Andy was trying to wake him. Besides, considering how much cooler the water was, Sam guessed he'd been out for a while.

"Sam." After allowing himself a few more seconds, he squinted open his eyes only to be greeted with a smiling Andy. "Hey you."

"Hey."

She ran her fingers through his hair once more before kissing him. "Tired?"

"Nah, I'm-" But he stopped himself. It was just them now; he didn't need to keep up the act. "Exhausted."

He could see the concern on her face but she continued to smile at him. "Wanna go to bed?"

"Sounds good." He hadn't been sleeping all that well for the past week. Everything with Andy and the case meant his brain very rarely shut off completely.

Still, when he felt her move away, he pulled her back.

"Thought you wanted to stay here?"

"It's been like an hour. Gonna be a prune if we stay much longer," she told him before kissing him again and removing his arms from around her. "Besides, it's been a long day. Figure we could both do with an early night."

"Yeah," he muttered as he watched her climb out of the bath, she had a point with that.

"You have eaten right?" she asked as she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself.

"Yeah. Grabbed something with Nash while we finished up," he told her as he stood up.

"Good." She held out a towel for him once he'd stepped out and removed the plug. "Ready?"

Sam just nodded as he wrapped the towel around his waist before following Andy out of the bathroom and into their room. However, when he saw his side of the bed, he found himself stopping.

"What's this?" he asked as he moved over to it.

"Your present."

Sam knew he should have guessed it given the fact that there was a wrapped package on top of a tin, but since Andy had said it wasn't a special occasion he hadn't been expecting much.

"You know you actually have to open it to see what's inside?"

When Sam glanced up at her, she had a smug grin on her face. Clearly she knew he was still worried he'd missed some important date. Though after seeing her nod to the presents again, he knew he should just open it.

He grabbed the first package, fairly confident that it was clothing of some kind given the way it felt, before ripping off the paper. As soon as he realised what it was, Sam couldn't help but laugh.

"You shrink the first one?" he asked as he held up the smaller of the two items. The top wasn't much bigger than his hand.

"Funny," she muttered, though clearly she was still waiting for a legitimate response.

"Well, at least Charlie will know which team to support."

He folded the smaller jersey and placed it on the bed before holding up the one for him. In all honesty, it was just what he needed since his old one was barely holding together. The only thing he wasn't quite sure about was Andy's obvious thought process as to what would be happening with the jerseys.

"So going for the whole matching clothes thing hey?"

Andy just grinned at him as he folded his jersey up and set it down next to Charlie's.

"You're the one who kept saying there would be no choice in this matter. Besides, it's just a jersey. And, you know, you wear the same one as like thousands of other people when you go and watch the game so-"

"Andy."

"Yeah?"

It was great, it really was and he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"Thank you."

That was all he needed to say to see the same proud smile as when he'd found her painting the spare room, or well, Charlie's room. Given the way he was feeling, and the way Andy was looking at him, Sam knew exactly how he wanted to thank her, but before he'd even taken two steps she was yelling at him to stop.

"What?"

"You haven't opened the other part."

She pointed to the tin on the bed causing Sam to turn back around and pick it up. It clearly wasn't store brought given the dents in it. In fact, Sam was pretty sure it was the same tin that had sat on top of the fridge for the last year, in case Andy ever needed it. Though he still wasn't sure why she had put it on their bed.

After considering the possibilities for a half a minute and coming up blank he just opened it. Sam couldn't help but laugh as he looked down at the contents before glancing up at Andy who had a smug look on her face.

"There's twelve, minus one to replace the one you stole."

He nodded before closing the tin and setting it down on the bedside table.

"Knew there was a reason I loved you," he said as walked over to her.

"Yeah," she agreed as he came to stand in front of her. "Sure there's a reason I love you too, just finding it hard to remember."

"Well." He placed a kiss to her neck before making his way higher. "I am awesome in bed."

Andy just laughed as he continued to kiss her neck.

"And modest."

"And modest," he agreed as he pulled back to see her face.

She was still grinning at him, shaking her head slightly.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He ran his tongue over his lip before continuing. "Want me to show you how much?"

"Thought you were tired?"

"Not that tired." He raised a suggestive eyebrow at her as he moved a hand to her towel. However, before he had a chance to undo it, Andy took a step back.

"Well, some of us have a big day tomorrow and need sleep," she said as he moved over to the dresser. "So…here."

She chucked him a pair of boxers before pulling out her pyjamas. Sam considered saying something for a moment, but he was exhausted and Andy was probably right. So instead of speaking, he finished drying himself off before pulling on his boxers.

Once he was ready, he moved over to the bed and took hold of the two jerseys. He stared at them for a moment before looking up to see Andy watching him. She was wearing the same grin she had been a lot recently, the one which meant she was imagining some future scenario.

"What?"

"How many kids do you want?"

"What?"

"Kids? How many?"

Sam knew they hadn't really discussed a final number before, and so he just shrugged before folding up the jerseys and placing them down on top of the cupcake tin.

"How many do you want?" he asked as he turned back to find Andy already in their bed.

"Well, at least two. I mean I love my dad but I just, I think I would have liked having a brother or a sister growing up."

"So at least two," he muttered as he grabbed his towel and dumped it into the hamper. "Think I can live with that."

"You've never had a number in mind?"

"Well." He stopped before deciding to go with his gut instinct. "How many do you need for a soccer team?"

"Eleven!" Andy screeched, a rather panicked look on her face. "You want eleven?"

"I was thinking more like a five-a-side team."

"Five?" She still looked rather worried by the number.

"Well, I figure we'll need at least one sub."

"So six? I'll just give up six years of my life to make you a soccer team."

"Okay." He smiled at her before seeing the pillow heading in his direction.

"You're not funny," she told him as he grabbed hold of the flying object. "And…I need that back."

"If I give you this, you promise not to hit me?"

"You promise not to knock me up six times?"

Sam couldn't help but laugh as he moved over to her.

"I promise not to knock you up six times." He handed the pillow back to her. "And I was also thinking that we should probably see how this one goes before starting on the rest of soccer team, or hockey. I'm open to suggestions."

"Oh good," she muttered, placing the pillow back behind her as Sam climbed into bed beside her.

"Appointment's at ten right?" he asked as he reached his hand out to turn off the light.

"Yeah, but I can always get a cab if you need to work."

"Already sorted it with Nash, I'm taking you."

Andy didn't say anything but Sam felt her hand squeeze his. He knew she was worried about tomorrow, that she was dreading being made to take the rest of her pregnancy off.

"Andy." He turned round so that he was face to face with her. Even through the darkness he could see her chewing her bottom lip. "If he-"

"I'll do what he says. I'll-" She huffed out a breath as she shuffled closer to him before mumbling something that sounded like raking into his chest.

"Didn't quite catch that," he said as he placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up.

"I'll need more baking equipment."

Sam leaned a little closer and kissed her. He understood how much the job meant to her, how much she wanted to go back, and so he knew how hard it was for her to stay at home while he got to go out there every day.

"I think we can manage some more baking equipment." He kissed her again before trying to cheer her up. "Look at it this way. By the time we gotta do Charlie's first bake sale, you'll be a pro. You'll put all the other moms to shame."

Andy laughed a little before nodding.

"Well, we gotta be the best."

"We will be."

"You really think that?"

Sam knew Andy had her doubts due to what had happened to her as a kid, and he also knew his own childhood hadn't helped inspire confidence but then at the same time it had made him realise something.

"You know what I think?" he asked as he took hold of her hand. "I think you're not going to be anything like Claire, and I'm-"

"Nothing like your dad," Andy interrupted him as she squeezed his hand.

It had taken a while, but eventually Sam had told her everything about his childhood. It hadn't been the most pleasant experience but it was one he needed her to understand, and thankfully she did.

"Seriously Sam, you're so much better than him."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Well, since we know exactly how not to do it, I figure we've got a pretty good shot at making this work."

"Yeah." Andy ran a hand though his hair as she leaned up to kiss him. "And well, we are awesome."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle before pulling her tighter against him.

"We are awesome."


End file.
